Fence anchor and driver.



PATENTED JAN. 2, 1906. J. M. VAN METER.

FENCE ANCHOR AND DRIVER.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 26.1904.

IINITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IWI. VAN METER, OF CAMBRIDGE CITY, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO FRANK W. MARSON, OF CAMBRIDGE CITY, INDIANA.

FENCE ANCHOR AND DRIVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1906.

Application filed September 26, 1904. Serial No. 225,897.

T @ZZ whom, t may concern;

Be it known that I, JAMES M. VAN METER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cambridge City, in the county of Wayne, and

i in the State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fence Anchors and Drivers, of which the following is a lucid specification, corresponding in substance to that disclosed in my caveat filed in the Patent Office under date of September 26, 1903 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of my invention and the manner of its construction, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it -appertains and relates to make and use the same.

My present invention has reference, broadly, to a new anchor for the lower strand of wire fences or the like and the device I employ for placing said anchors in position.

The object of this present invention, broadly speaking, is the provision of simple and efficient means for anchoring wire fences to the earth and the provision of the instrumentalities for easily and quickly inserting said means expeditiously and in proper order.

More specific objects are to provide means for preventing the lower edges of wire fencing from being inadvertently lifted up, as by farm-stock, to bring the lower edge of wire fence in contact with the ground, or nearly so, and to provide an anchor for the fence at points between the posts.

A further object is to provide a wire-fence anchor or staple of simple and inexpensive construction and to provide a simple and inexpensive tool for placing said staples or an-- chors in position, and, finally, another object is to provide as a new article of manufacture a wire-fence-anchoring staple and tool for inserting same which can be made and sold at a comparatively low price and will be applicable to all kinds of wire fencing.

Other particular objects and specific advantages will be made manifest in the course of this specification-such, for instance, as the many metal contacts the fence will have with the earth, which will cause the fence to be practically immune from lightning or electrical disturbances, and, again, the tool I provide for inserting the staples or stays may be used as a tamp in setting fence-posts.

The detailed objects and particular advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear more fully, and the essential features will be set .out in the claim terminating this specification.`

In order that others familiar with the art to which my invention relates may construct and operate the same, I will now set forth a detailed statement thereof, which I will refer to as briey and compactly as I may.

In my efforts to simplify as far as possible the construction and manipulation of my invention and to attain the objects thereof I have provided the arrangement and construction substantially as shown most clearly in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of wire fencing, showing the earth thereunder in section and showing my anchoring-staples as applied to hold the fence near to or in contact with the surface of the ground. Fig. 2 shows an outside elevation of the sheath of my driving-tool. Fig. 3 shows an elevation of the blade and hammer of my driving-tool. Fig. 4 shows one of my anchoring-staples as provided ready for use. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal central section of the lower portion of the driving-tool and showing one of the staples positioned ready for driving. Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken on the line X X of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on line Y Y of Fig. 3, and Fig. 8 is a detail showing a key to be used in connecting together the sheath and blade of the driving-tool.

Similar indices refer to and denote like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the letter A denotes a relatively long staple, preferably formed of wire or the like, with identical arms, each terminating in a bevelpoint, as a a', extending outward and downward, as shown, whereby as the staple is driven the points are caused to travel away from each other-that is, downward, outward, and sometimes curving upward, substantially as shown in Fig. l. The amount of inclination or curvature which may be imparted to the staples in driving will depend somewhat on the nature of the earth into which they are driven, but will depend more particularly on the acuteness which is given to the bevel of the points.

The letter B denotes the sheath of my driving-tool, which sheath is essentially a relatively long someWhat-fiattened tube hav- IOO ing a square upper end and having an open longitudinal slot b extending into its lower end centrally, as shown in Fig. 2.

The letter C denotes a blade having an eX- posed portion of the same length as is the sheath B and of a size and contour to neatly fit and iill the interior space of said sheath B, as indicated in Fig. 5. Formed in the lower end of the blade C is a segmental indentation c of the same contour as is the upper curvature of the loop of the staple A. Cn the upper end of the blade C is permanently se'- cured the weight or hammer D, which should be of a contour to provide a handle and also being provided with a relatively flat face on its upper end and should be of a weight suflicient to be advantageous for driving purposes, as will presently be explained. The

'blade C is adapted to be entered at the top into the interior of the sheath B, with the Weight D resting on the upper end of the sheath B and with its lower end even with the lower end thereof, in which position the sheath and blade are adapted to be locked together by the key E, which key is passed through the alined holes f and h, which holes are formed through the sheath B and the blade C, respectively. When the parts are thus secured together, they can better be transported, or the device can then be used as a tamp for setting posts by using the weight D as a hammer or tamp and the sheath as a handle therefor, or the sheath may be removed and simply the blade used as a handle for the tamp.

The numeral l denotes earth, 2 denotes a fence-post, and 3 denotes the lower wire of a fabric fence, said objects being shown merely to illustrate the application of my invention.

The sheath B being separated from the other parts, as shown in Fig. 2, it will now be seen that a staple, as A, Fig, 4, may be positioned in the lower portion of the interior space thereof, as is shown in Fig. 5, after which the device is brought to bear on -the fence in such a way that the wire 3 will enter the slot b, as shown in Fig. 5. rlhe blade C is now entered from the top of the sheath into the interior thereof, whereby the segmental portion c will rest on the loop or upper end of the staple A, as shown in Fig. 5. It will now be apparent that by alternately raising and lowering the weight or hammer D the staple will be driven into the ground astride the wire 3 and that by reason of the peculiar cut of the points a 0/ the staple will assume the shape as shown in Fig. 1, thus obtaining a purchase or grip in the earth and accomplishing one of the particular objects of this invention. It is apparent that the blade C need not be entirely removed from the sheath in order to insert a new staple each time, but the staples may be entered from the lower end of the sheath.

It should be noticed that by reason of the great number of metal contacts the fence Will have with the earth the fence thus provided will be almost, if'not entirely, immune from lightning or other electric disturbances, which might otherwise damage the fence or entirely ruin it.

From the above description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that I have produced improved fence-anchors and a device for driving same which will accomplish the objects elsewhere vreferred to in this specification.

While I have shown and described the best means to me known at this time for carrying out the objects of my invention in a practical manner, I desire it to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the exact details of construction shown and described nor to the particular applications or uses set forth, but holdl that any changes or variations in the invention as would suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic would clearly fall within the limits and scope of my invention.

Having now fully shown and described my invention and its application, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A fence-anchor driver comprising a hollow open-ended sheath,the interior walls of which are straight and uncorrugated, one end of the sheath being slotted to receive a fence-wire, the sheath further provided intermediate its ends with registering apertures in the opposite walls thereof a solid blade receivable in and of a contour corresponding'to the interior area of the sheath, an enlarged tampinghead on oneA end of the blade for limiting its inward movement, the blade being also provided intermediate its ends with an aperture therethrough which aperture, when the blade is wholly received in the sheath is brought into alinement with the apertures in the sheath and which aperture is of the same size as the apertures in the sheath, and aresilient split pin of a size equal to the diameter of the apertures, the pin receivable in and frictionally engaging the walls of the apertures to effectually prevent any movement of the blade relative to the sheath.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES M. VAN METER.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. MAnsoN, R. W. HANDLE.

IOO 

